Chicagoland NE IPAs (2018)

It's not that I can't afford it, it just comes down to how much more will I enjoy a can of beer that costs $5, as opposed to one that costs between $1.50 and $2.50?

Probably not twice as much. Lizard King, NvU, Two Hearted, and a host of other beers are freaking delicious and will put a smile on my face just as much as the NEIPA dejour, or least make me 95% as happy for less than half the price.

Currently 7.99 at Binnys all summer!

 

The crowlers at Corridor certainly last over a week.

I don't trust growler's more than a day personally, from anywhere.

 

Cumulus is a Northeast Style IPA brewed with oats.

They're all hazy beers. They can all be compared but you're clearly the guy who MUST compares doubles to doubles and pales to pales.

 

Lol, it's a bit like saying I've got 5 sports cars to test. Let's rank them 1 through 5. Here are the 5 we'll be testing:

1- Ferrari F40
2- Honda Civic
3- Toyota Minivan
4- Buick Sedan
5- Volkswagen SUV

Hey look, the Ferrari was the preferred sports car out of the 5 we tested.....

 

Totally agree. The thing about these beers, and IPAs in general, it's not even about being better, it's just about being different.

That milkshake beer above looks good, but is it better than NvU? Probably not, as I feel NvU is one of the best IPAs in the country.

It comes down to how much of premium do I want to put on a new experience, even if it might be inferior.

 

People, I think, made all grain brewing out to be a lot harder than it actually is. I would jump in head first to all grain. Either get a cooler for a mash tun, or do the brew in a bag method. There are plenty of easy recipes out there to make a solid NEIPA.

 

I will disagree with your last comment. Its like Chris Rock said, "yeah, you can do it [sic], but it don't mean it's to be done". Comparing a double to a pale is not a valid comparison in any taste test, unless you are solely going by which you would prefer to drink that evening. But if you are trying to provide any statistical analysis on why you liked one more than the other, none of it would hold water*.

*Acknowledgement: I am no more a cicerone or a lawyer than I am Chris Rock

 

Totally agree. Just go full all grain. If you can watch a YouTube video one time and then follow instructions/recipe you'll be fine

 

Radio Swan - 6.4% ABV
Cumulus - 6.3% ABV
Son of Juice - 6.3% IPA, not a pale ale - per Untappd.
Reckless Keystrokes - 7.5% DIPA
Squeezit - 8% DIPA

The first 3 absolutely can and should be compared to each other. As should the last 2. And it's not like he's comparing a 9+% DIPA vs. a 5% pale. Jai Alai is a 7.5% IPA, for example. These are all going to be in the same ballpark to your regular taster.

 

I'm not entirely sure what you're arguing here. The guy did a blind taste test and 5 beers and said which one he and his group preferred. It's no different than someone saying they prefer BA Abraxas to Vanilla Rye. Or can Vanilla Rye only be compared to FO and the like?

 

I came on here to point exactly this out. You beat me to it.

 

I'd go one further - I think just about anyone who would be doing a BA Abraxas / VR blind taste test would be able to easily tell the difference. Cinnamon and chiles versus straight vanilla. I'd be willing to be someone comparing Reckless Keystrokes to Radio Swan would have a much harder time.

Happy to test my theory if anyone wants to contribute...

 

I would say go all grain BIAB (brew in a bag) for a very easy way to get into it, or all grain in a cooler mash for an easy way to get into it like @weirdalchy said.

I would say start with 2 or 3 batches of a moderately hopped pale ale with a simplistic recipe (no oats, rye, etc...) using a "normal" amount of hops. You could probabaly do $30 for ingredients for 5 gallon batches to learn the ropes. Once you feel confident in the process, you can overload the hop bill and add specialty grains.

I would also agree with @KCUnited thay there is a learning curve that involves reading and researching on BA homebrew forum and some other resources.

I don't want to derail the thread to much... so feel free to messege me if you want to know more.

 

Like I said in my reply to you, the only thing I'm arguing is comparing a double to a pale for a ratings value (not just a taste/I like this more than that preference). I'm not knocking his blind tasting. But you just answered your own question by using the word "prefer" when comparing BA Abraxas to VR. I prefer Zombie Dust to VR, but that doesn't make it a validity-rated argument.

 

Lost me at statistical analysis.

 

The only thing you forgot to mention was the cost involved in getting good at brewing